Angel's Christmas Wish
by sassy lion
Summary: Set in 2003. Faith comes back from the dead to give Angel a gift. Note: This story was written back in 1999. Enjoy.


Angel's Christmas Wish  
Written by: sassy_lion   
Author's Notes: This story was written around Christmas of 2000. Hope you like it. ?  
Feedback/Archiving: Please take it. Just send me a note saying where it is going to farscapechick2001@yahoo.com.  
  
  
December 22, 2003  
  
"Angel!" Buffy called out.  
  
Angel turned around and saw Buffy running toward him.  
  
She stopped right in front of him. "I haven't seen you for a couple of days. I was worried." She leaned up and kissed him.  
  
"There was no reason for you to worry." He pulled Buffy into his arms for an embrace. They turned around and started to walk down the street together, their feet crunching in the freshly fallen snow. It was only the second time that snow had fallen in Sunnydale since Angel met Buffy almost seven years ago.  
  
"But there is, maybe possibly I-I-I'm not sure. I had a dream last night." She looked down at the ground as she continued to walk.  
"What was it about?"  
"Us. I really don't want to talk about it."  
Angel dropped the subject, even though he was still very curious.  
Almost time. Angel thought looking at the clock tower. He and Buffy were now patrolling the UC Sunnydale campus. I knew one day this moment would come. Tonight is the night. The clock stuck midnight.  
"Midnight." Buffy pointed out.   
5 minutes Angel thought as he quickened his pace and started to head toward the Bronze.  
"Come on I have something to show you." Angel picked Buffy up and ran across town to a warehouse near the Bronze. "We are here." They stepped inside. Buffy became very sad as they stepped into the warehouse. This is where Faith... she couldn't even finish her thought.   
Starting to form in the middle of the warehouse was a large green vortex.  
"Angel." Buffy said slightly worried. She had seen a lot in her eight years as resident Slayer, but never a green vortex like that!  
The vortex finished forming and out of the vortex stepped Faith.  
"Faith?" Buffy's voice quivered.   
  
*~* FLASHBACK *~*  
  
November 15, 1998  
  
Buffy was sitting in the Bronze drinking coffee and watching Oz's band Dingoes Ate My Baby play. Willow and Xander were sitting on both sides of her. Willow was intent on not being interrupted as she watched her boyfriend play. Xander was, as usual, staring at Cordelia from across the room.  
"So," started Willow, never taking her eyes off of Oz. "Angel took   
patrol for you tonight?"  
"Yeah." Buffy smiled at the mention of Angel. "He was pretty   
insistent on letting me have a night off."  
Not a moment too soon, Angel appeared at the entrance to the Bronze.  
"Oh. Look," Buffy said pointing at Angel, "he showed up."  
"Who?" Xander asked. He looked in the direction of Buffy's pointed   
finger. "Oh." He depressingly looked away. Buffy knew he was jealous   
of Angel and that it bothered him to watch them together.   
Buffy kept watching him. He was looking for her and she knew it, but she continued to let him search. She looked away, but kept her eyes on him.   
He found her a moment later. He stepped up to the table and looked at   
Buffy sadly.   
"Buffy." He said quietly. She turned her head and looked at him.  
"Angel." She said happily, but her face soon turned to concern.   
"What's wrong?"  
"I have something I want to show you," he said sadly. He led Buffy to a warehouse near the Bronze.  
"Angel, what are we doing here?" she asked concerned. She had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. Angel led her inside and turned on a light. He turned around and left the warehouse. She turned around and looked inside. She was shocked at who she saw. On a cot in the middle of the place was Faith. She was heavily bandaged and full of blood. Buffy quickly ran to her.  
"Faith?" she asked. Faith had disappeared a year earlier after she helped Buffy and the Slayerettes kill a demon called the Executioner, who sought out individuals like the Slayer, witches with powers, and others with powers. He had sought out Willow and almost killed her.   
Faith had helped Buffy kill him.  
"It is time for me to go. I just came to say goodbye. I am dying."  
"What do you mean you are dying?" she knelt next to Faith and looked her   
in her big brown eyes. "You can't die."  
"But I am. That's why I came back. To say goodbye."  
"You can't die!" Buffy repeated.  
"But I am. Don't let them kill you too." she closed her eyes briefly.  
"Who? Who is going to kill me?"  
She opened her eyes and stared right into Buffy's. "The Council. They have a drug that kills Slayers, it is called Hollia Root. Don't let them get to you." she handed   
Buffy a letter that had Angel's name scrolled across it, took one last deep breath and closed her eyes forever.  
"Faith. Faith? Faith!" she shook Faith until she realized Angel was behind her, his hand on her shoulder.  
"She told me to give this to you." she handed Angel the letter. He opened it quietly and found a note scrolled by Faith.  
  
Angel,  
Don't let Buffy see this letter! I knew this was going to happen.   
I came to say goodbye and to tell you and you alone, that the locket in   
the bottom of this envelope is from Ireland. That's where I have been   
all this time. I found a girl there named Aisling McConnell, who is   
apparently a person from your family. She knows about you. She told me   
to give this to you. It is called Lahtaynah's Locket. This is both of   
our gifts to you. I have absolutely no idea otherwise. Aisling said you   
already knew something about it. My wish from the locket is to promise   
you that five years to this day, at exactly 12:05, at this address, I   
will return to keep a promise. Bring both Buffy and the locket. See you   
then.  
Faith  
  
"What does it say?" she asked curiously.  
"Nothing. Just about where she had been."  
"Where?"  
"Ireland." was his only reply. He took Buffy by the hand and led her out of the warehouse.  
  
*~* FLASHBACK ENDED*~*  
  
"Faith?" Buffy repeated astonished that she once again saw her friend.   
Faith nodded. "It's really me." she pulled Buffy in for a hug.   
"I have never seen you as a hug kinda person." she whispered.  
Faith only smiled and turned to Angel.  
"I promised." she said to him quietly. He nodded and handed her the locket, which he had taken off of Buffy just moments earlier. He handed it to Faith.  
She took it carefully held it up to Angel. "Make a wish."  
He closed his eyes and thought carefully. He opened his eyes a minute later and nodded to Faith.  
"Is it..." she started, "what I think it is?"  
He nodded and Faith smiled at him. She held the locket up to his chest and chanted in an ancient language. Angel knew it was Ancient Celtic, but he said nothing.  
"Merry Christmas." she whispered as she lowered the locket and gave Angel a hug. She handed it to Buffy.  
"Keep it safe." she whispered as she began to walk toward the portal again.  
"Faith?" Buffy called quietly.  
Faith turned around and looked at Buffy with a small smile.  
"Thank you."  
Don't thank me. Thank yourself. Faith smiled one last time and walked into the vortex. Be safe and happy.  
Buffy watched the vortex close around Faith and sadly remembered the night she died.  
"It wasn't your fault she died." Angel said as he closed his arms around her. "She was poisoned, you couldn't have saved her."  
"You know me too well." Buffy laughed softly.  
Angel turned Buffy around. Buffy noticed some color had come to Angel's face.   
"Angel..." Buffy started.  
He shook his head and kissed her softly. His lips are warm, she noticed in thought, could it be?  
She pulled back slowly letting the kiss linger a little longer and looked into his deep brown eyes. She slowly brought her hand to his chest. His heart is beating. She looked back to him.  
"How could it..." she began, but Angel stopped the rest of her question by kissing her again.  
"It's true." he pulled back from the kiss and smiled brightly.  
"How...." she began to question.  
"Faith promised to make our wish come true."  
"When?"  
"The night she died. She left a letter. It was the one that she told you to give to me. She left instructions to come back tonight so she could give us our wish." Angel smiled one last time before kissing her again.   
"Merry Christmas, Buffy."  
"Merry Christmas, Angel."  



End file.
